Hysteria
by Showmance
Summary: She just wasn't expecting to see him again, but it wasn't like she couldn't handle the situation. Afterall, Courtney could handle everything. Takes place 14yrs after TDI. DxC
1. Did You Miss Me?

**Okay so this idea came to me in study hall when I should have been studying for a chemistry test XD. It may suck, it may not, that's up**

**to you guys to decide! Sorry for any typos or mispellings! Thanx :)**

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Courtney walked slowly up to the table beside the microphone and took a seat in her chair. Another long book talk in another Barnes and Noble book

store. Answering basically the same questions about her book over and over, mostly questions asking about her past relationship with a certain

delinquent on a certain TV show. She was about to do yet another long signing and sign and sign until her hand nearly fell off. Her book had been at the

top of the Bestseller List ever since she released it. It was called _Total Drama Life: From TV __to a Seat in the Senate_. It went from her whole Total Drama

Island experience to the day she was elected as senator in New York State. Her agent, Cynthia Brooks, stood in front of the table and told the audience

the rules of the signing. One book signing per person, no personalizations, yadda yadda. Courtney placed her head in her left hand and closed her eyes for

a moment. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up, it was her fiancé, Hayden. "You okay?" He asked. Courtney nodded and sat up. Hayden had

been so helpful through all of this chaos, he even didn't get jealous when she talked about her relationship with her favorite delinquent to her

eager question askers, it kind of made her sick. Although he was a great guy, she was ready to marry him, well, wasn't she? Hayden leaned in and kissed

her lightly on the top of her head and she smiled. She couldn't wait until this stupid book tour was just over and done with. She longed to be back home

in her apartment getting normal hours of sleep, cozy in her own bed, away from Hayden for just a little while… The first fan broke Courtney's train of

thought, she wasn't even looking up at her fans who probably were waiting for hours for this. She continued signing in a trance, not even realizing what

she was doing or even if she was signing her real name until about what seemed hundreds of signings later when a man asked "Can you make this out

to Your Favorite Ogre Please?" The voice sounded familiar, but Courtney didn't even have the strength to look up, she was just so out of it. "Sorry, but

didn't you hear the lady? No personalizations." She said as she just signed her name. She stopped for a second and looked at what she just wrote on the

inside of the cover,_**Princess**_. She gasped and she could feel Hayden's gaze at the page in her book. Something had made her want to sign that, and she

wasn't sure what until she looked up at the man standing in front of her giving her that familiar, gorgeous, irresistible, devilish smile. He winked at

her and she almost melted, but instead she felt like fainting. It was Duncan, "What's the matter, Princess," He began, "didn't you miss me?"

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**So what did ya'll think? I know it was kinda short, but i have more planned, believe me! Reviews are always nice! Let me know if you think i should continue, or if is should just forget it or whatever! **


	2. This is Bad

**So here I go with chapter 2. I even left myself with a cliff hanger last night when I finished writing….cuz I wasn't even sure where I was going to go with it. It was killing me lol, so I had to continue ASAP for the sake of myself and all of the readers! ****Thanx sooooooo super ****much for the reviews! You guys are AWESOME!!!! **

******PS, if you're a Twilight fan like me, you probably know where Courtney's last name came from! Even though I'm Team Edward, I still**

**think the guy playing Jacob is super hottttt…but not in his wig lol :P Twilight movie: only 5 days and counting!!! Midnight showing is a**

**definate cuz there's no freakin way i'd be able to wait out a whole school day knowing i'd be seeing twilight right after!**

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"Duncan?!?" Courtney exclaimed as she stood up in her seat, but then quickly covered her mouth. What had she just done? She looked around and saw

all of the people around her even her fans quiet down and stare. Then they began to whisper. Courtney looked to her right at the news crew who was

waiting to interview her after the signing. But it looked like they found something else to do because they were quickly scurrying to get their equipment

together. She stood in shock, with her hand still over her mouth. Her agent gave her a quick evil look that had, "What the hell did you just do?" all over

it, Hayden reached over the table and shook Duncan's hand and said something like, "Hi, so you're Duncan, I've read so much about you."

Everything was moving so fast, it all of a sudden got really loud, and Cynthia grabbed Courtney at the elbow and began dragging her away, Hayden then

trailing quickly behind. Courtney looked over her shoulder as the press swarmed Duncan, while he was on his tiptoes reaching his head over the crowd to

get one last look at Courtney as she was forced away by her agent and security guards. "Courtney!" She heard him yell, as she turned her head away.

There was no way he would be escaping that swarm anytime soon. Courtney, Hayden, and Cynthia finally reached the limo outside, got inside and closed

the door. Cynthia took a deep breath held her hand to her head and shook her head slowly. "Courtney, Courtney," Cynthia began quietly, "DO YOU HAVE

ANY IDEA WHATSOEVER ON WHAT YOU JUST DID?" Cynthia was breathing heavily as Courtney looked away. "I had no idea he was going to be there

Cindy, I never thought I'd see him again. Besides do you think I would have gone if he was going to be there?" Courtney replied, she felt like yelling

back, but her energy was drained. Hayden put his arm around her and she shrugged it off. "It doesn't matter whether you knew or not if he was going to

be there, what matters is that you screamed his name! Why in the name of all that is holy would you do that? Do you know what the tabloids will say

about this? They're going to start making up rumors. They're going to start saying you have an affair with him, I mean the look on your face just said it

all. This could hurt book sales, ruin a re-election, and not to mention-"

"CINDY SHUT UP!" Courtney yelled. Hayden jumped a little at hearing her scream. "It's almost like you think I don't know this is bad, because believe me

I know this is bad." Courtney couldn't help but think maybe she should've hired someone else as her manager. Cynthia was such a bitch, she'd dealt

with bitches before, but Cynthia was definitely one of the bigger ones. "Cindy, let's just calmly take a deep breath and forget about this for now." Hayden

said. Courtney couldn't help but give him an exasperated look. Did Hayden seriously think they could just leave this behind them? After all, Courtney, his

fiancé, was just approached by her ex-boyfriend! Didn't he even feel the least bit jealous or threatened by this? Didn't he find it a little strange that

Courtney's relationship with Duncan was more popular than her relationship/engagement with him? He was definitely not typical boyfriend material. In

the movies the guy was always jealous over ex-boyfriends when girlfriends brought them up. Hayden was totally off balance. "You're not at ALL

concerned that I just came into contact with my ex? Don't you even feel the least bit threatened by the man?" Courtney asked giving Hayden the evil

eye.

"No, Court, Sweetheart, I trust you," He said smiling at her, and rubbing her back. Hayden was turning too much into Trent now for her own taste,

"besides what you and Duncan had was in the past, right?" He looked at her, then his eyebrows raised as if he wasn't sure as to how Courtney was going

to respond to his question. "Right." Courtney said looking down to the floor of the limo. Though, Courtney couldn't help but really wonder if she was

really ready to just throw Duncan into her past now, he had just walked into her present, and she wasn't so sure if she wanted to push him away

just yet…

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**so, will Courtney be able to just leave Duncan in her past? I'm not ****even sure yet, although I do somewhat have an idea! **** Thanx for reading, and for all of the awesome reviews! They make my day!!!!**

**Oh! I almost forgot! Okay so the title of my story is Hysteria, as you all prolly have noticed by now lol. I based it off a song by Def**

**Leppard and it totally kinda reminds me of this story!  
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	3. Do What?

**Last chapter was kinda boring I guess…yeah. I think it's gonna start**

**to get better after this chapter I'm almost positive cuz I have some**

**pretty strong ideas. This chapter isn't so great either but it's kinda important cuz it leads into a major part of the story. I know you guys are waiting for more Duncan, and trust me he'll be back! He's my favorite character on the show so I'm not about to just forget him. Isn't Hayden ANNOYING?!!!??? Yeah, I don't like him much either, lol. I guess there is something as a too perfect man. Wow I'm having a conversation with myself, lameness! Okay so let's get started then, the sooner I can get to Duncan the better! So still i'm sorry for it! As always thanks for the reviews!**

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Courtney sat on her couch in her living room lying back with an icepack on her head. There was no noise throughout the entire apartment except for her

butler making tea in the kitchen. She was finally away from her loud mouth agent and her fiancé. Cynthia had decided to cancel Courtney's book tour

due to all the hysteria over the Duncan appearance. The incident was only three days ago and already the story was all over. News channels,

newspapers, it was madness. It was still too early for magazines, but Courtney couldn't _wait_ to see what the National Inquirer would be saying about all

this. Access Hollywood even mentioned something about a possible secret relationship flaring between them and would be airing an interview with

Duncan tonight at six. _If he says anything that isn't __true_…Courtney thought, but shook off the anger, he wouldn't do that, at least not to her. She

thought of how she had been given several offers to make a statement about what happened three days ago, but turned them all down. She was usually

on top of things, and relatively responsible to getting things done, but for this she needed time to just think before she went out and made her

statement. Cynthia had been ranting for hours the day earlier saying that Courtney needed to get out and say something or else. Courtney

was supposed to have called her in the morning, but now it was almost six in the evening. Javier, Courtney's butler came into the room with a cup of

tea. "Thank you Javier" Courtney said as she removed her icepack and grabbed her cup of tea.

"Aren't you going to watch Access Hollywood tonight?" Javier asked.

"No, why would I want to watch Duncan take his spotlight moment?" Courtney sipped her tea.

"If I may say so, Miss, I don' think Duncan meant for all this publicity. I think he probably just really wanted to see you."

"Well, he had to have known people would've recognized him eventually. I mean he was in the book I was signing!" Javier was silent for a few moments

and then replied, "I think he still has feelings for you." Courtney looked up at him, her mouth open. She had considered only the bad this whole time due

to all the craziness surrounding the issue, but she had never considered the good, nor had she even really thought of it. All she had kept thinking was

this is bad, but never once had she even thought about how Duncan was feeling and if he still had feelings for her. Her thoughts were interrupted with

the doorbell ringing and Javier left to answer it. Courtney put down her tea, moaned, and leaned back, placing the icepack back on her head. He came in

a few moments later. "Miss Courtney," Javier started.

"Yes?" she responded, her eyes closed, "Cynthia is here to see you." Courtney opened her eyes and looked at him.

"Can't you tell her to just come back later?"

"You're going to have to face her eventually, Miss, besides I've already tried. She says it's urgent." Courtney sighed and then sat

up again.

"Fine, let her in," Javier disappears. Cynthia nearly ran into the living room. She looked at Courtney.

"A little dramatic don't you think?" Cynthia said referring to the icepack. Courtney rolled her eyes. Cynthia gabbed the icepack off Courtney's head quickly

and tossed it into the corner. Courtney opened her mouth to protest angrily, but Cynthia snapped at her instead. "You haven't called me back, why?"

She stared Courtney down and stood in front of her, hands on her hips.

"What are you, my mother?"

"Have you been paying attention to the news lately?" Cynthia tuned on the TV, it was Access Hollywood, and of course Duncan's face appeared on the

screen. Courtney stared for a while. He was so handsome, blue eyes, dark hair, he lost the green hair though, she wondered why. She turned away,

knowing Cynthia was watching her reaction. "I've been trying not to." She said, crossing her arms.

"Well it appears he's the big thing right now."

"And you came here just to tell me this? As if I couldn't figure this out on my own?" Cynthia sat down next to her.

"Since Duncan's appearance, Duncan has been signed up for ten different photo shoots and nearly five interviews. He's like Elvis, or something, the girls

just love him. I got so many angry emails when I canceled the rest of your tour, until people started to realize why. Now I have thousands of email

requests asking that Duncan do a signing with you." Courtney couldn't believe what Cynthia was saying. Wasn't Cynthia the one that wanted me to

have absolutely nothing to do with Duncan? Wouldn't Hayden get like totally jealous that she would then be spending more time with Duncan than him?

Courtney started laughing. "A signing with me? Duncan?" She continued laughing, "As if he would really agree to something like that anyway."

"He already agreed." Courtney stopped laughing. He already agreed? Well, it couldn't be so bad, besides she thought it might be kind of nice to actually

see him again without all of the bad surrounding it. And what better than to make a statement than to actually interact with him? Just as long as she

didn't mess it up… . "Okay, I'll settle for that." Courtney replied. Cynthia smiled and clapped her hands, but Courtney wasn't sure exactly what she was

getting herself into.

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**Alrighty, that chapter was sorta slow, but thanks for baring with me on that one. I promise the next one is going to be way better! Duncan will be in it! I think it's kinda funny how Courtney seems to think that Hayden will be jealous! Shout out to GothicChevy for the Courtney/Duncan book signing idea! Reviews are as always wonderful!**

**Thanks for reading!**


	4. Reunited And It Feels So Good

**Thanx again for the reviews! Sorry for the wait, i've been so stressed with homework it's insane (JUNIOR YEAR...UGH!) This is my favorite chapter so far! The return of Duncan in the story! Enjoy!!!**

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Courtney sat on the plane stirring her martini with her toothpick and stared out the window. Hayden was right next to her reading _War and Peace_.

He seemed so deep into the book, it was boring her just looking at him. Cynthia was talking loudly on her cell phone to someone from the other

side of the private jet. They were on their way to Seattle, where they would be meeting Duncan at some Hilton hotel. She hadn't spoken to him

since she shouted his name at the signing a week earlier. She had to admit, she was a little nervous about seeing him again, hence the martini.

At the same time, she couldn't help but feel anxious about reuniting with him. She had so many questions, like why had he lost the green in his

hair? It was one of the parts of him she loved the most, it made him stand out, it made him different. Hayden put his book down. "So, Court, you

excited to see Duncan again?" He smiled and placed his hand on hers, looking her in the eyes.

"Yeah, I guess." She replied. She let out a loud sigh. He was happy she would be spending the majority of the next few weeks with Duncan? He

wasn't the least bit jealous or worried? She shouldn't have expected any more from him. "He seems like a cool guy. I wouldn't mind being friends

with him." Courtney was shocked as he said this. Now he wanted to be friends with her ex? She un-buckeled her seat belt, grabbed her martini,

and walked across the jet to a different seat and sat down. She turned towards Hayden and glared at him. "What did I say?" he asked from

across the jet.

"Oh, nothing." Courtney replied angrily, then she looked out the window. Hayden just shrugged and went back to reading his book. He would

never understand that woman. Courtney couldn't wait to land.

The plane landed just as the sun was setting. A huge limo waited in front of the air port with a new driver. He introduced himself as Jesse as he

helped them place their luggage into the trunk. They climbed into the limo, Hayden still attached to his precious book. Courtney took a bottle of

water out of the mini fridge. She was seriously considering another alcoholic beverage, but she didn't want to be drunk when she met up with

Duncan. Cynthia was being very quiet, it was nice. Courtney had assumed it was most likely due to nerves. Cynthia was probably worried

Courtney was going to make a fool of herself. Courtney couldn't blame her, mostly because she was worried for the same thing. Cynthia opened

her mouth to say something, but stopped and looked out the window. The car ride was so awkward, she just couldn't wait to get to the hotel. She

glared at Hayden some more. He looked up at her and caught her glare. "Courtney, baby, what's wrong? What did I do to you, sweetheart?" he

asked, he looked so concerned, it was almost funny. But Courtney was just to aggravated to laugh. She decided to just let it all out. "Why are you

so calm over this whole thing? You know, a normal guy would NEVER, EVER, want to be friends with his fiance's ex. A normal guy would be

jealous. But no, you just have to be so, so-UGH!!" Courtney threw her hands up in the air, and Cynthia slapped her hand to her head.

"I'm sorry, Court, I mean I can be jealous if you want me to be. If it makes you happy..." The limo pulled up to the hotel and parked.

"Forget it okay?!? It's not the same that way, just forget it!" Courtney opened the door before Jesse had the chance and stormed out. The hotel

doorman came out with a luggage cart, and Courtney stood in front of the limo with her arms crossed. Hayden came out of the limo, and he

reached out his arm towards her, but she stormed off quickly, Hayden chased after her as she nearly ran into the lobby, arms still crossed.

Duncan waited in the lobby drinking a cup of coffee. He was so nervous about seeing Courtney. He knew she was just going to be furious with him

for causing all this publicity and such. But really it was her anger that turned him on. His good thoughts were interrupted with the thought of

Hayden her...fiance. His face cringed at the word. He looked toward the door. He saw Courtney storm in, Hayden trailing behind. She looked so

angry, but at who? It seemed to be Hayden considering he was practically running after her shouting her name and she just ignored him. This

was just too great, and the sight just too funny. He started hysterically laughing as he stood up, placing his coffee on the table. Courtney stopped

dead in her tracks as her eyes came across Duncan. A smile came across her face. She had never been so happy to see Duncan in her whole life,

even though he was presumably laughing at her. She walked up to him and Duncan's laugh shrunk to a giggle. "Duncan!" Courtney screamed,

and she threw her arms around him. Duncan's arms flew open to his sides in shock as he stared down at her. What happened to her anger? His

curiosity melted away as he embraced the moment. He placed his arms around her, and hugged her tight in return. Hadyen stopped trailing and

stared, his jaw dropping. Courtney's manager walked in and stared before slapping her hand to her head. People walked by, staring, one guy even

took out his phone and took a picture. "It's nice to see you too, Princess." Duncan said enjoying every second of the situation.

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**so, how was it? i rly enjoyed writing this chapter! the next chapter should be up soon, i have a feeling this week might be less stressful, but i guess you never can tell. thanx so much for reading!!**


	5. Sneaker Night

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**here i go with chapter five, i wrote it pretty fast because excitement just overwhelmed me, lol. so there might be lots of typos, sorry if there are. Thanks for all the awesome reviews, but as cheesy as this sounds, you guys are what help me to go on writing so a big hug goes out to all of you guys!**

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The moment was so perfect. And although Courtney knew she was already starting off bad on trying to prove there wasn't a relationship going on

between Duncan, she was almost sure she didn't care, even if she would be hearing a mouthful about it later on. Courtney escaped from

Duncan's hug. "I think you're boyfriend over there just went into a pre-stage of shock." Duncan said tilting his head towards Hayden. Courtney

looked over at Hayden who was standing with his mouth open still. Hayden hadn't expected Courtney to just, throw herself at Duncan. He must

admit, he wasn't prepared for it, and he most certainly did not see it coming. Courtney giggled, woah, she thought to herself, where did that

come from? She hadn't laughed in days, it felt so...good. "Don't worry he's fine." Courtney said, and she waved to him. Hayden walked over and

cleared his throat. Duncan was trying so hard not to burst out laughing, because honestly this Hayden guy was such a joke. "Hey, dude." Duncan

said, putting out his fist to give Hayden a solid, but Hayden just stared at it.

"It's nice to meet you again," Hayden said, although Courtney and Duncan could tell that that wasn't the truth. Maybe Hayden would have meant

it earlier, but after that hug, he wasn't so sure. Duncan rolled his eyes, Courtney didn't notice, she was staring at Hayden trying to hold back her

laughter, biting her lower lip. He was finally jealous. But now that she had gotten what she wanted, she wasn't really sure if she wanted it

anymore. Cynthia walked over. "Hello, Duncan, good to see you showed up." she said looking at Courtney as she spoke.

"Wouldn't have missed this for the world." Duncan said, winking at Courtney who then blushed and looked to the floor.

"Well I checked us all in, Courtney, we should probably get going and get some rest. We have a big day ahead of us. You should probably get

back to your room too, Duncan." Cynthia said, as she motioned to the bellhop with the luggage cart.

"You're probably right. I should hit the sack." Duncan replied. "Courtney, I'll see you in the morning." he reached out and grabbed her hand,

looking at Hayden as he did, who in turn looked really mad. It was going to be fun messing with this goof, he thought. Courtney felt a piece of

paper in her hand that Duncan had slipped in when he took his hand in hers. She felt like opening it up to read it, but someone might notice. She

slid it into her pocket casually as they all headed up to their rooms.

Courtney was sitting on the couch in the hotel room listening to Cynthia and Hayden snap at her back and forth about her little encounter with

Duncan in the lobby. She was trying to tune them out, but it was hard, they were just so loud and not to mention obnoxious. "I hope your happy,

Courtney." Cynthia said, it seemed like it was her last statement to let out before dropping the conversation, which wasn't going anywhere

anyway. "You know what, Cynthia," Courtney said as she stood up, "I am happy. For once in like, what months? I'm happy. And, I'm done with

this conversation. I already saw this coming, and I already knew what both of you were going to say, so basically it was just like deja vous."

Cynthia gave Courtney what seemed like a growl and then left the room, slamming the door really hard. Hayden still stood there, looking at

Courtney. "What, are you going to scold me some more, or you going to go to bed?" Courtney asked. Hayden turned around and headed for the

bedroom without saying a word, and Courtney went into the bathroom and closed the door. She undressed and got into the shower.

When she was out of the shower, she dressed into her black silk button up pajama top, and her silk black pajama pants. She then placed on her

purple, silk robe to keep her warm. She stood in front of the steam covered mirror and wiped it off with her towel, and then began to blow dry

her hair. She hated going to bed with wet hair because water always got all over the pillow and she hated that. While drying she thought about

the hug. It was so refreshing, like a gasp of fresh air. It was something she needed so bad, and it felt so good. Thinking about the hug reminded

her of something: the note. She switched off her blow dryer and went to her pair of pants on the floor and reached into the pants pocket she put

the note in. She took it out. It was a piece of small, white, hotel paper folded in half. She quickly unfolded it, and read it out loud to herself in a

whisper, 412. That was all he had to say, 412? A number? Then it clicked inside her head, it was probably his room number. Her room number

was 420, so it was just down the hall. He probably meant for her to go visit him. She shook the thought away, she couldn't go to him. She

already got herself in to too much trouble that evening, and she didn't want to risk anymore. Courtney took the note and threw it in the garbage

and then proceeded to the bedroom to go to sleep.

Courtney turned toward the clock. It was 2:30am. She couldn't sleep. She turned towards Hayden who was snoring loudly on the other bed on

the other side of the room. Duncan's room number buzzed in her head, it was basically calling her name, and she wanted so much to answer it.

She watched as the clock turned to 2:31am. She let out a sigh and turned on her back. This was ridiculous. She got up out of bed and walked

over to the corner of the room and took her purple robe off of the chair and put it on. She slid on her slippers and tiptoed carefully out of the

bedroom, closing the bedroom door lightly behind her. Courtney then proceeded to the door to the hotel room, sneaking into the hallway. She

made a right and headed straight down the hall for room 412.

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**Thanks for reading guys! The next chapter might even be up by later on today, because the story is getting more exciting to write with every chapter! Please review!**


	6. Late Night Conversations

**okay, i know i said that i would be posting it by the end of last night, but i didn't realize how much homework i had, sorry!**

**As always, thanks all of you for the reviews, you guys make my day! :)  
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**Courtney walked slowly down the hall carefully scanning the room numbers, not wanting to accidentally knock on the wrong door. She

stopped in front of room number 412 and stood there for a moment staring at the door. She took a deep breath and knocked on the door. No one

answered so she knocked harder, looking around to make sure no one in the hall was watching. She heard stumbling inside the room and then

the door swung open. Duncan stood in the doorway half asleep leaning against the door. He was in nothing but his boxers. "I'm sorry, did I wake

you?" Courtney asked. _Of course I did_, Courtney thought, _what a stupid question_.

"No, I'm only half asleep because-" Duncan started sarcastically.

"I'll let you go back to sleep." Courtney interrupted. She turned away and Duncan quickly grabbed her arm.

"Please," he said motioning his free arm into his room, "stay awhile." Courtney looked at him and then passed him as she walked into the room.

He smiled as he watched her slowly walk inside, dressed in her pajamas and her robe. He knew she would've shown up eventually. She sat down

on the couch.

Duncan closed the door and took a seat next to her. He hadn't even bothered to turn a light on. "So what brings you here so late?" Duncan asked.

"I couldn't sleep." Courtney replied. She closed her robe up tighter.

"What, so you've come to deprive me of mine?" He said this but didn't mean any of it. He loved that she came even if it was almost three in the

morning.

"You know, I could always just leave," Courtney said. That was the last thing Duncan wanted.

"No, stay, please." Duncan persuaded. He hoped he didn't sound too desperate. Courtney didn't respond. They sat in silence for awhile in the

complete darkness.

"I'm sorry for embracing you like that earlier." Courtney mentioned referring to the hug, thus breaking the silence.

"No, it's fine, I enjoyed it." He hoped that by saying that he hadn't made anything awkward.

"I enjoyed it too." Courtney said, and then she giggled. To Duncan it sounded like she was guilty for enjoying it. Well, she was engaged. Duncan

smiled. Courtney wanted to know everything about anything he had done since they last met. Little did she know that Duncan wanted the same

thing. "So," Duncan and Courtney said at the same time. They laughed. The laughter was so sweet. "You first," Duncan said.

"How did you find me?" Courtney asked.

"Well," Duncan began, "one day was at Barnes and Noble shopping for this book, and they had this table devoted to your book. And I had never

even known you wrote a book. And I never even known you wrote a book. There was a sign on the table saying that you would be doing a book

signing at that very Barnes and Noble. So I thought, what the hell? Nows my chance, it's now or never." He remembered that day so perfectly. He

remembered how his heart skipped a beat when he read the sign, how beautiful she looked in her picture on the book cover, and how he had

spent several sleepless nights before hand going over what he would say to her when they met. "You shop for like, books?" Courtney teased.

"Yeah, what of it?"

"It's just, I can't picture you shopping for books, that's all really." There was more silence. Duncan broke it with his question.

"So how did you and Mr. Cheesy meet?" Even though Duncan couldn't see her face, he could feel her glare.

"His _name_ is Hayden," There was definately a tone of anger in her voice.

"Sorry, okay, so how did you and _Hayden_ meet?"

"It's kind of a funny story I guess."

"So then, let's hear it."

"Okay, well I was eating at this restaraunt with some of my friends and I started to choke on my ravioli. And Hayden came over from the next

table and gave me the Himlech and saved me." Courtney said. The story almost angered Duncan. She almost died, and it could have been him

that saved her had he only gone to find her sooner. But no, it had to be that Hayden jerk. If only he had found her sooner Hayden and Courtney

woul've never met, and Duncan would have Courtney all to himself. Yet at the same time, Duncan had to thank the guy. If it hadn't been for him

Courtney might not have been sitting there next to him on the couch in his darkened hotel room at three in the morning. "I guess he doesn't

seem like too bad of a dude." Duncan lied, he wondered if Courtney could tell even in the dark.

"Yeah, I suppose. He can get annoying sometimes." Courtney replied. _So the guy did have a flaw_, thought Duncan, and hearing the words come

out of Courtney's mouth was even better.

"How so?" Duncan was curious.

"I don't know, sometimes I fell like he's a little too perfect."

"I didn't think there was such a thing."

"Well, there is, and his name is Hayden." Courtney became very quiet as she said this. She couldn't believe she just let all that slip, so she

decided to save herself. "But I still love him." Duncan rolled his eyes at that last sentence. He thought it was probably just a statement to save

herself from revealing too much. At the same time, though he wished the lights were on so he could read her expression to see if there was any

truth to her words. "Sure you do, Princess." Duncan responded.

"I do!!" Courtney fought back.

"Doesn't sound like you do very much."

"Well you know what? You're just jealous! Yeah, that's it, jealous! I said it, jealous!" With that, Courtney picked herself up and left the room,

slamming the door hard behind her. Duncan was surprised by the truth to those words. She was right, he was jealous, and there was nothing she

could do about it.

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**thanks so much for reading! Review please!**


	7. Time Stands Still

**So, i know this kinda took a while, but i wanted the ending of this chapter to be just right. Reviewers, you guys are awesome like always! so here i go with chapter what is it, 7 now? Wow, I can't believe i've written that much, lol! Enjoy!**

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Courtney was awakened by the phone ringing. She reached for the phone groggily, her head still buried in her pillow. "Hello?" she answered.

"You're six thirty wake-up call, Miss." A voice said on the other line. Funny, she didn't remember requesting one. She thought about how it was

probably Cynthia who requested one for her. "Okay, thank you." she replied and then hung up. She sat up in her bed and looked over to Hayden

who was still sleeping on the on the spare bed in the corner. He was a heavy sleeper. She had snuck out and then back into the room the night

before, slipping right under Hayden's radar. Courtney got out of bed, got dressed, and put on her makeup. She was very careful to not wake-up

Hayden, she just didn't feel like talking to him yet. She decided on going down to the lobby to get some breakfast so she left the room and closed

the door quietly behind her. She turned around and jumped, letting out a quiet scream and covering her mouth. Duncan was standing there, right

in front of her. He started hysterically laughing. "Duncan!" Courtney whispered loudly as she slapped his arm. His laughter went away, and instead

he just gave her a devilish grin.

"I'm sorry, did I scare you?" Duncan asked.

"No, I just wasn't expecting you to be there, that's all." Courtney was looking around, making sure that no one in the hall was watching.

"What's your deal, Darling?" Duncan asked, referring to her being on edge.

"What if Cynthia sees us, or hears us?" Courtney whispered.

"I could care less as to what Cynthia thinks." Duncan replied.

"Yeah, because you don't have to deal with her. What are you doing here anyway?"

"I was waiting for you to come out."

"How did you know I would be leaving?" Courtney was confused.

"You're six thirty wake-up call, Miss." Duncan imitated the voice on the phone. Courtney glared at him.

"That was you?!?" Courtney nearly shouted.

"Yes, ma'am." Duncan was so getting a kick out of this.

"What if Hayden had answered the phone?"

"I would've hung up."

"How did you know I'd be leaving my room?"

"I didn't, I just guessed that you would." Duncan shrugged.

"And what if I didn't?"

"I would leave."

"And what if Hayden walked out?" She had him there. Duncan wasn't sure about what he would do then, he hadn't planned that far, so he decided

to change the subject.

"Okay, officer annoying, would you please stop with the questioning? Is there anything wrong with wanting to spend time with you?"

"Well, to some extent there is, and then to some extent there isn't. It depends on how you look at it."

"Are you still mad at me about last night?" Duncan had to know, he didn't want her to be mad at him.

"Yes, a little." Courtney replied, but she lied, only to protect herself. She didn't like being selfish but it seemed necessary in this particular

situation.

"Can I make it up to you by buying you some breakfast?" Duncan asked, he was praying she would say yes.

"Breakfast is complimentary here, in the lobby that is."

"Well then lets go into the restaurant, I hear the food is really good." Courtney wanted so much to say yes to Duncan's offer. It was nearly killing

her. She took one last look around the hall.

"Uh, I don't know, if people see us there, eating, you know like, alone..." Courtney trailed off. She was unaware of how much her response hurt

Duncan.

"Oh, come on! Live a little! What happened to the rebel back at Wawanakwa?" Duncan asked nudging her arm. Courtney pondered for a minute.

Temptation overrode her conscience.

"Ah, what the hell." Courtney said and shrugged, and together the walked toward the elevator to go and get breakfast.

* * *

Courtney and Duncan sat at the booth in the corner of the restaurant. Duncan had ordered an omelet, hashbrowns, bacon, and toast. Courtney

ordered pancakes, eggs, and bacon. They hadn't said much to each other since they sat down to eat. But the silence wasn't like the silence they

shared the night before this silence was somewhat awkward, and neither one of them could figure out why. Courtney wanted to fix the situation

by starting some conversation, so she tried to think of what to say. She finally settled on an apology when she was halfway through her pancakes.

"I'm sorry, I kind of overreacted last night, huh?" Courtney said. She wasn't sure why it took so long for her to think of that one simple sentence

to break the silence. Duncan looked up at her from his breakfast and smiled. _Finally_, he thought, _she says something_. He was getting kind of

worried, and he wasn't sure why. But now that the silence was broken, his worries melted away.

"Yeah, but not all of it was overreacted. Maybe I am a little...jealous." Duncan replied, leaning in and giving her a devilish smile when he said

"jealous". Courtney blushed, Duncan enjoyed it. Just then, Hayden walked into the restaurant. Courtney's back was faced to the door, so she

didn't see him enter. Hayden was standing on his toes scanning the restaurant. _Shit_, Duncan thought. He put his head in his hands, trying to hide

his face so that Hayden wouldn't see him. Courtney noticed his gesture. "What's wrong?" Courtney asked.

"Oh, it's nothing, I just have a little headache, that's all." Duncan replied.

"Well, maybe we should grab the check and head back." Courtney said turning around to find the waiter. Her eyes landed on a tall, black haired, green

eyed man, it was Hayden! Thankfully his green eyes were looking somewhere else. Courtney quickly turned back around to face Duncan, her eyes wide

in shock and she placed her head in her hands too.

"Shit." She whispered aloud. She was hoping that maybe she would be able to sneak away to the

bathroom or something. Duncan and Courtney

sat there, both of their heads in their hands praying that Hayden would leave. The waiter came up to the table and placed their check on the

table, giving them a strange look as he walked away. Courtney slowly lifted her head, and placed her hand on the check. Duncan unconsciously

reached out to grab the check and his hand landed right on top of Courtney's. Duncan lifted his head up at the warm feeling of Courtney's hand,

and Courtney looked up at him. They looked into each others' eyes, the look eventually deepening into a gaze. Duncan gripped Courtney's

hand tighter, grasping the warmth that was felt in that moment. It was almost as if the whole world just stopped. Courtney and Duncan smiled at

each other. "Courtney?" A voice asked, it was Hayden. Courtney closed her eyes and sighed. Suddenly the world was in motion again and she

didn't like it one bit.

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**Okay, so i was listening to my ipod the other day to Just So You Know by Jesse McCartney, and it TOTALLY reminded me of this story! so, i just HAD to post the lyrics here, you guys can read them if you like, But you can watch the music video on youtube if you want, for some reason the link doesn't work when i post it in here, sorry. But i can totally picture Duncan, Courtney, and Hayden in the music video! (Duncan being Jesse). Thanks for reading, review plz!**

**Just So You Know**

I shouldn't love you but I want to

I just can't turn away

I shouldn't see you but I can't move

I can't look away

I shouldn't love you but I want to

I just can't turn away

I shouldn't see you but I can't move

I can't look away

And I don't know how to be fine when I'm not

'Cause I don't know how to make a feeling stop

[Chorus:]

Just so you know

This feeling's taking control of me

And I can't help it

I won't sit around, I can't let him win now

Thought you should know

I've tried my best to let go of you

But I don't want to

I just gotta say it all

Before I go

Just so you know

It's getting hard to be around you

There's so much I can't say

Do you want me to hide the feelings

And look the other way

And I don't know how to be fine when I'm not

'Cause I don't know how to make a feeling stop

[Chorus]

This emptiness is killing me

And I'm wondering why I've waited so long

Looking back I realize

It was always there just never spoken

I'm waiting here...been waiting here

[Chorus]


	8. Of Conflicts, Winks, And Signings

**sorry it took awhile for me to post this. i planned on having it up sooner but i did a lot of crossing out, deleting and editing because i was unhappy with a lot of it, but i think it turned out okay, although i'm still not so sure if i like the ending...oh well, i leave that up to you guys to decide. enjoy!**

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Courtney proceeded to quickly pull her hand out of Duncan's grip and place it in her lap. She turned to Hayden. "Hayden!" she said as she looked at

him. He did not look happy. She stood up and gave him a hug, as much as she didn't want to. Duncan glared at the situation. He was hoping she

wasn't trying to rub this in his face as payback for his phony wake up call. Maybe he would bring it up later. "I was wondering where you were,

Sweetheart. I thought you ran away on me." Hayden said. _Hayden is smarter than I thought_, thought Courtney. Hayden shot Duncan a hard look, and

Duncan smiled and waved. "I thought we were going to have breakfast together." Hayden said. Courtney gave him a strange look.

"You never said anything about breakfast." Courtney replied.

"I'm sure I did." Hayden continued.

"Can you just forget it?" Duncan interrupted. "She had breakfast with me, it isn't the end of the world, Zippy. You can have breakfast with her any

other morning." Courtney gave Duncan another one of her glares, one that said 'be nice' all over it.

"Why were you having breakfast with him, anyway?" Hayden asked. _This is so unlike him_, thought Courtney. She didn't understand why all of a

sudden he was so protective over her, it was almost throwing off the balance of nature. Did he suddenly feel threatened by Duncan?

"Oh, we were just catching up, you know how that goes. I mean we haven't seen each other in like what, fourteen years is it now?" Courtney replied,

she looked over to Duncan, with a face pleading that he not screw anything else up to make Hayden more upset.

"I don't know, Princess, it seems like it's been so much longer." Duncan flirted. He wanted to make Hayden angry because in the end, he knew

Courtney would just forgive him for all this. She always did. Courtney glared at him again. _Is he trying to make me kill him?_ she thought. She looked

up at Hayden who was also glaring at Duncan. "Court," he started as he pulled her arm, "let's go, you need to get ready for the signing today."

"But I-" Courtney started, but was cut off when Hayden pulled her hard as he headed for the exit, his hand still firmly gripping her arm. "Ouch, lighten

up, will you?" Courtney shouted as he pulled her through the door. She gave a sympathetic wave to Duncan through the window on the closed door on

the outside. Duncan waved back and watched as Hayden nearly dragged her away until she was no longer in sight. It reminded him of one of the last

times he saw her which was when she got voted off of Total Drama Island. Chef and Chris slowly pulling her away against her will...Duncan sighed and

sat back in his chair.

Courtney was sitting on the couch waiting for Cynthia to show up. She was flipping through channels on the TV, not even looking at any of the

channels she was even turning to. She was too deep in thought. First of all, she was hoping that Hayden wouldn't spill to Cynthia about what

happened this morning, second of all, she was hoping Duncan wouldn't spill about what happened last night, and if he ever wanted her to speak to him

again, he better not. Third, she was hoping no tabloidist had caught anything, and lastly, she was thinking how much she just wanted to hold Duncan's

hand again. Courtney turned off the TV. Hayden walked into the room, his brown hair now gelled back. He looked terrible with his hair gelled back. He

sat next to Courtney on the couch, and she scooched over a tiny bit. "I know you wanted to catch up with him, and I understand that, but was it really

necessary to hold his hand?" Hayden asked. Courtney nearly exploded. She stood up.

"It was an ACCIDENT!" She screamed. "I only reached out to grab the check, and he did at the same time, and our hands just happened to come into

contact, that's it! Sheesh, what are you like, ugh! What happened to mister 'I'm cool with everything?'" Courtney asked. Hayden was surprised by her

defensive reaction. He wanted to calm her down, so he walked over to her and placed his arm around her.

"I'm sorry, Sweetie, I don't mean to be such a jerk. How can I make it up to you?" Hayden asked.

"Maybe by...leaving me alone." Courtney suggested. Hayden threw his hands up in the air almost like he was surrendering.

"Okay," he said, "if that's what you truly want. I won't even come to the signing with you today, how about that?" He walked back to the couch and sat

down.

"Fine," Courtney said as she crossed her arms. Just then Cynthia walked into the room. Her blonde hair was tied up in a messy bun and her green

eyes had a frantic look in them. She walked straight up to Courtney and pointed a finger in her face.

"Don't you tell me you had breakfast with him." Cynthia started. Courtney sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Breakfast with who?" Courtney asked, trying to be a smart ass.

"You know damn well who." Cynthia replied. "I heard people talking about it in the lobby this morning when I went to get my free bagel. They said

Hayden showed up and that there was some conflict."

"You're not my mother, Cynthia, and how did you even get in here anyway?" Cynthia held up the room key card, and wagged it in Courtney's face.

"Well, there was no conflict." Courtney said.

"Hayden was there conflict?" Cynthia walked over to Hayden.

"Yeah, kinda." He replied. Courtney gave him the most evil look she could conjure up. She almost laughed seeing the nearly frightened look on his

face, but it was no time for laughter.

"Shouldn't we get going anyway, Cynthia? Isn't that one of the reasons you decided to barge in here unannounced?" Courtney asked. Cynthia looked

at her watch.

"Yeah, you're probably right, we should get going, the driver's probably waiting. Don't think that by changing the subject we're done talking about

this."

"Never would I think something like that, because with you nothing is ever over." Cynthia rolled her eyes.

"Hayden, your shoes aren't even on, come on let's go people." Hayden was about to open his mouth to protest but Courtney interrupted.

"Hayden's not going."

"Why not?" Cynthia asked, she seemed angry. Her face was too tense, Courtney thought, sooner or later she wold have some serious wrinkles.

"We got into an argument, and we thought it might be better if he just didn't go." Courtney replied.

"Fine then, let's just get a move on, please." Cynthia said, and with that they were headed out the door.

"Behave yourself!" Hayden yelled as the door was closing, Courtney hoped that he was talking to Cynthia, but she knew he really wasn't.

"Oh please," Courtney muttered under her breath.

* * *

They got outside to the car, and Jesse the driver held it open for them. Duncan was already sitting inside. "Finally, guys, you show up." Duncan

replied. He leaned in a little closer to Courtney, "And almost thought you were going to bail on me, Princess." Courtney scooted away a little, and

looked to see the angry expression on Cynthia's face. "Actually I was more worried that your owner wouldn't let you off your leash to come and play."

Duncan referred to Hayden, and Courtney let out a laugh. Cynthia had enough.

"Listen here, Delinquent, enough with your wise ass comments. You need to learn something and learn it good. Courtney's engaged to Hayden now.

You're not on Total Drama Island anymore, you're not sixteen,"

"Cynthia," Courtney interrupted,

"You're not in juvie anymore,"

"Cynthia-"

"Courtney made her decision, and she obviously chose Hayden so,"

"CYNTHIA!" Courtney screamed. Cynthia finally stopped as she looked over at Courtney. "Give it up okay? I think he gets your message." Duncan

didn't look upset on the outside, but on the inside he was hurting. He placed his hand on Courtney's shoulder.

"It's alright," Duncan said, "I can handle whatever this bitch can throw at me."

"Duncan," Courtney whispered angrily.

"Oh, so you wanna call me mean names then?" Cynthia asked.

"You're the one who started the name calling, Darling, I'm only keeping up." Duncan now seemed to be enjoying this.

"I hardly consider Delinquent a mean name." Cynthia continued. Courtney sank into her chair. She couldn't believe Cynthia was taking this so

literally.

"Well, I find it rather insulting." Duncan lied, he placed his hand on his chest.

"You could ask anyone and they would say that Bitch is far more insulting that Delinquent." Jesse the driver rolled up the window connecting the back

seat to the front. Courtney guessed he was tired of hearing all this fighting too.

"Depends on who you ask." Duncan said, shrugging.

"Are we at the book store yet?" Courtney moaned.

"You know, you think you're so tough, don't you, Duncan? But you know what I saw that episode, you know, that episode with the bunny, and-"

Cynthia wasn't going to let this go.

"WOULD YOU TWO PLEASE JUST STOP IT?" Courtney screamed. "I can' t take it anymore, I'm seriously about to jump out of this limo." Duncan and

Cynthia both stared at Courtney. Duncan's expression lightened up, and Cynthia's stayed the same, but she always looked angry so it didn't make

much of a difference. Courtney had always wondered what screwed Cynthia over so bad to make her this way. "I'm sorry, Courtney." Duncan said. "I'll

just ignore her, even though it's pretty hard to because she's so-"

"Save it, please..." Courtney begged, and he just dropped it. The rest of the car ride to the book store was completely silent, but the tension was still

present. Courtney was almost sure that the tension wouldn't be going away any time soon. She was so glad that Hayden wasn't there. It would've

made things so much worse.

Finally the limo pulled up to the book store, and Jesse came around to let them out of the back seat. The store manager was standing out front and

greeted them as they stepped out of the limo. "Hi, my name is Clara, I'm the manager here, the fans are already waiting, so if you would please just

follow me," Clara said, and Courtney, Duncan and Cynthia obediently followed her. Clara lead them inside, where a bunch of people were gathered.

Courtney's signings had never been this crowded before in her life, and she was completely taken away by the sea of people who were now cheering

as they walked in. Duncan smiled and winked at girls who reached out to him. It made Courtney sick. Clara lead the three of them to the small stage

set up in the back of the store. "You guys can have a seat here for a moment." Clara said motioning to four chairs that were set up on the stage.

Courtney, Duncan and Cynthia took a seat, facing the audience, and Clara walked up to the podium. "Can we quiet down here please so we can get

started." Clara said. Hushes and whispers were heard throughout the store until it was quiet. Clara continued. "We are very fortunate to have these

guests here with us today. We all know Courtney Lautner, senator of New York and former contestant of Total Drama Island," Clara motioned toward

Courtney and Courtney smiled and waved at the audience. "And we all certainly know the man who has seemed to take over tabloid news over the

past few weeks, who also co-starred with Miss Launter on Total Drama Island, Duncan Scott!" Duncan waved, and girls screamed and took pictures.

Courtney stared in awe at the reaction that was given. All of these girls wanted Duncan, and it kind of made her a little jealous. "Duncan, would you

like to come up here and say a few words?" Clara motioned for Duncan to come up to the podium and she stepped down. Duncan got up and walked

over. The crowd cheered, and then quieted down to listen to Duncan speak.

"Wow, I never knew I was this popular with the ladies," Duncan started, and he looked over at Courtney who rolled her eyes. "It's obviously a pleasure

to be here, I always enjoy a good fan reaction." More girls cheered. "Anyway, I'm here today because I actually took the time to pick up a book." The

crowd laughed, and Duncan laughed in return. "Yup, a book, and a damn good book at that too, and I'm not just saying it because I'm in it. Basically

you could say I'm here because of this fine lady here," Duncan pointed to Courtney, Cynthia grew angry, "if I hadn't noticed her picture on the table at

my local bookstore surrounded by her book, I wouldn't be here today. I actually owe all of my fame to her. If she hadn't screamed my name at that

one disasterous signing, then, well, I wouldn't be standing here. No one would've even known I was there. So, all of you are cheering for me when in

fact, I'm not as worthy of your applause as Courtney is. She's the one who wrote the book, she's the success, and she is the reason I'm here, so with

that being said, Courtney, come on up here and receive the applause you deserve!" The crowd roared with applause as Duncan stepped off of the

podium and Courtney stepped up. Courtney smiled at Duncan and he winked, she felt all tingly inside.

"Thank you, Duncan," Courtney said at the podium, and with that, Courtney began her book talk. When she was finished, they skipped straight to the

signing, Cynthia had requested that there not be a questioning session. Because she knew what everyone would be asking, and she knew that

Courtney and Duncan would just awkwardly mess up the answers and make fools of themselves.

Duncan and Courtney sat at the long table side by side, signing books. Again there were no personalizations only to make things move quicker. Every

girl that had received a signature from Duncan also received a wink and a handshake. It made Courtney sick.

The signing eventually came to an end, and it couldn't have come any sooner. When they got back into the limo, there was no conversation

whatsoever. It was completely silent, and the silence was slowly lulling Courtney to sleep.....

Courtney woke up to a hard slap on the arm. She jolted up, right off of Duncan's shoulder. She hadn't even noticed that she was sitting close enough

to him to be able to lean on him. Duncan was shooting Cynthia the evil eye, and Courtney assumed it was Cynthia who slapped her, but seriously who

else would it have been? "Sorry," Courtney said to Duncan as she slowly came back into consciousness and scooted away from Duncan a little.

"Don't mention it, I don't mind." He smiled at her, and she smiled back, and Cynthia pulled Courtney by the arm, sliding Courtney further away from

Duncan.

"Way to ruin the magic moment," Duncan said. Cynthia grunted. "What is it with you people too and grabbing Courtney's arm? One of these days

you're going to pull that arm of hers right out of the socket, and then you'll have me to answer to!" Courtney laughed, he was right, why was it always

her arm everyone had to pull on?

When they got to the hotel, Duncan and Courtney said their goodbyes before heading to their rooms. Hayden only asked Courtney how the signing

went, and didn't talk to her for the rest of the night, and that's the way she wanted it. Hayden finally fell asleep at around nine thirty, he always went

to sleep early. Courtney was thankful for that. Once he had retired to the bedroom, Courtney stayed awake, in her pajamas watching Dirty Dancing on

TV. She watched as Johnny packed up his car, leaving Baby in tears. It reminded her of when she and Duncan were separated, it left Courtney in tears.

Hayden's snores were heard from where Courtney was sitting, he was definitely asleep. Courtney got up, put on her robe, and headed out the door,

straight for Duncan's room. She scanned the hallway as she approached his door. Since it was only eleven, there would definitely be more people

awake. When she saw no one, she knocked on his door. This time he answered quickly, not even in his pajamas yet. "Well hello there, " he said, "if it

isn't my frequent visitor?"

"Duncan," Courtney said, "I really need to talk to you."

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**this chapter was rly hard for me to write, so please let me know what you think!**

**P.S I promise the next chapter will have what i know ALL of you have been waiting for! :)  
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	9. They're, Interrupted

**Sorry this update took so long! I had a mini writer's block. I knew where I was going with it, but I just wasn't sure how to put it into words, but finally I've come out of it! YAY!!! anywhoo, I've changed Hayden's appearance a little, giving him green eyes instead of blue, I realized that he looked a little too much like Duncan with the blue eyes and the black hair so yeah. I also updated the chapters where his description was shown, so that it doesn't get confusing to new readers and stuff. **

**I hope you guys had (or are still having if you celebrate Hannukah) a nice holiday!  
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Courtney walked past Duncan into his room before he could respond and she took a seat on the couch. His TV was on, he was watching some old movie and wasn't sure what it was. Duncan shut the door and turned off the TV. He grabbed a slice of pizza out of an open pizza box on the table in front of the couch and sat down. "So," Duncan began, "What is it you wanna talk about then?"

"Well, it's just, well, um, I don't know where to begin." Courtney replied. She wasn't even sure what she wanted to say, even though she could feel it at the tip of her tongue.

"What then, do want me to sit here till you think of what to say?" Duncan had a tone of sarcasm in his voice, but he didn't mind at all if she sat there forever and said nothing at all. He just enjoyed her company.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Courtney asked. "Would you prefer if I leave?" She stood up, she didn't want to leave, but she knew Duncan would hold her back anyway.

"No, I was just kidding around, I don't mind if you stay at all. In fact, I would prefer you never leave." Courtney sat back down. She smiled inside, but she had to be strong on the outside because she was engaged.

"I want to thank you, Duncan, well, for what you said at the signing earlier. It made me fell good. No one's ever really complemented me like that before."

"You're very welcome." Duncan smiled, and Courtney continued.

"And I want to apologize about Cynthia, I mean even though you had some of it coming...well anyway, she shouldn't have behaved like that, but you need to behave too, you know."

"Well-"

"And I want to apologize for this morning, you know about the whole Hayden thing getting all protective over me and whatever it was that happened."

"I can't say-"

"I mean what is it with that guy?" Courtney stood up. "A few weeks ago he was totally cool about this whole thing, and now it's like the end of the world when I even speak to you! What was so wrong about holding your hand? Couldn't he see that it was making me happy? That I was happy? That I was enjoying every single moment of it?" Courtney stopped talking and then sat back down. Duncan stopped chewing his pizza and placed his half eaten slice back in the pizza box. He wasn't sure how to respond to her outburst. He thought how Courtney must not like Hayden as much as a woman should like her fiancé, and that made him happy, in sort of a guilty way.

"You know, I enjoyed it too. You don't know how badly I wanted to beat up that fiancé of yours for breaking the moment up." Duncan leaned in closer, hoping Courtney wouldn't back away or get angry with his last statement. She usually surprised him with her actions. Courtney laughed.

"Wow, I guess I kind of went over the top, didn't I?" Courtney said referring to her outburst. Duncan laughed in reply.

"Yeah, but I liked it. You never fail to entertain me, Princess, and I mean that in the best way possible."

"And you, my favorite ogre, even though you get on my nerves, and even though you cause so much trouble, and make my life so complicated, and-" Duncan put up his hand.

"Okay, enough," Duncan said jokingly.

"Anyway, your flaws are what make you so special to me, and I wouldn't want you to be any different than what you are, no matter how much I might tell you otherwise." Courtney didn't like that she was opening up so much, but she couldn't keep these feelings locked up anymore. She needed to get it out to someone, and Duncan was the only one who wouldn't freak out.

"Thanks, it feels awesome to hear that from someone who actually means something to me." Duncan felt that since she was opening up to him, that he would open up to her. "And your opinion of me means more to me than anyone else's." Courtney looked up into Duncan's eyes, and smiled. Duncan gazed back into hers and placed his hand against her cheek. She was this close now, and he wasn't going to let go. He slowly began to lean in, as she closed her eyes. Suddenly there was a knock at the door, Courtney opened her eyes, and stood up, almost frightened. She looked like a deer in headlights. "Shit," Duncan said, "who could that be?"

"I don't know," Courtney whispered, "Oh my God, what if it's Hayden, or Cynthia, oh shit, shit, they're gonna kill me!" Courtney began pacing around.

"Get into the bathroom," Duncan whispered in reply, "leave the light off. I'll come get you when it's clear." Courtney nodded and dashed towards the bathroom. Duncan turned the TV back on, and then walked over to the door. He looked out the peephole to see Hayden's face. "Shit," Duncan whispered and then he opened the door. "So," Duncan said casually, "you wanna be friends now or what?"

"Listen, I don't have all day to bark at you," Hayden replied, Duncan rolled his eyes, God this guy was corny.

"Okay, get on with it."

"Have you seen Courtney, I mean is she with you?" Hayden asked, peering over Duncan's shoulder into Duncan's room.

"No, I haven't. I don't think she'll be hanging much with me anymore after that whole fiasco this morning. I really think you overreacted, dude." Duncan knew that Hayden overreacted, but at the same time, Duncan wondered what he would've done in Hayden's situation.

"Well, then, do you have the slightest idea where she might be?"

"Why don't you check the lobby or something? They have free coffee after six pm, and they have free snacks between seven and ten, so she could be down there." Duncan was so thankful that he was good at lying, and the best part was Hayden was totally buying it.

"You're probably right. Thanks, Duncan, it's been a pleasure." Hayden held out his hand.

"Sorry, man, I don't do shakes," and with that Duncan slammed the door in his face. He looked at Hayden's confused expression through the peeophole and let out a quiet laugh. He waited until he saw Hayden turn and walk away. Duncan dashed into the bathroom. "Courtney, it was Hayden. You gotta get down to the lobby like right now!" Duncan said as he turned on the light in the bathroom. Courtney came out from behind the shower curtain.

"I know, I heard the whole thing! Oh crap, how on earth am I going to beat him down there?" Courtney shouted leaving the bathroom.

"I don't think you'll be able to, Princess, but get down there anyway, and when he asks tell him that you've just been there all along. He's good at believing lies, if you can lie properly."

"Believe me, I can." Courtney said as she headed out the door. "I'll talk to you later." Courtney closed the door behind her.

"Good luck!!" Duncan yelled behind her. He sat down on the couch and flipped the channel it was Dirty Dancing, the final dance scene, he prayed that Courtney would be able to get away with it alright. Then he remembered the kiss that they were about to share before Hayden had interrupted. They were so close, so comfortable. He just hoped this situation wouldn't ruin everything.

Courtney took the stairs down to the lobby running as fast as she could down the several flights. When she reached the door the first floor she slowly opened it and snuck out. She ran quickly to the end of the hallway leading to the lobby and stood up against the wall before peering around the corner into the lobby. She didn't see Hayden. She sighed and walked casually into the lobby and sat down on one of the couches there. She felt a little awkward sitting there in her pajamas, but she was more focused on not getting caught. She grabbed a magazine and sat back into the chair. She looked carefully over the edge of the magazine she was "reading" and saw an empty cup of coffee siting at the edge of the table in front of her. She moved it closer, so that she could pretend it was hers. She watched couples walking through the hotel entrance holding luggage and checking in and sighed. "Courtney! There you are! I've been looking all over for you!" Hayden said. Courtney put down her magazine and got up to face him. His green eyes showed signs of relief. "Oh really?" Courtney replied, "I'm sorry, I've just been down here the whole time having a cup of coffee." She picked up the empty cup and looked in it. "Did you know that they have free coffee after six?"

"Yeah, I heard about that. That's funny though, I could've sworn I checked this area for you."

"Well obviously not good enough, cause I was here the whole time." She smiled, Hayden was so buying this.

"Should we head back up?" Hayden motioned to the elevator.

"Why not?" Courtney followed him to the elevator and went back up to the room with him.

Courtney laid down in her bed, listening to Hayden snore. It was 1:53am. She was staring up at the ceiling thinking about how glad she was that she was a good liar, she could have certainly been banned from seeing Duncan for good. She didn't want that to ever happen. It was bad enough that she was without him for fourteen years. It had taken her so long to get over him when he was gone, and she wasn't sure if she could mend herself back together again if she was without him forever. She stepped out of her bed and slipped on her slippers and robe. She knew she could get caught, but no one could ever keep her from seeing Duncan again, and she was sure that Duncan wouldn't allow that either. She left the room, went to Duncan's room, and knocked on the door. Duncan answered it almost instantly, still in his daytime clothes. She guessed he wasn't able to go to sleep. "Maybe I should just give you a room key." Duncan said. Courtney walked in. Duncan closed the door and walked over to Courtney in the center of the room.

"So, where were we?" Courtney asked as she stepped closer to Duncan. Duncan stepped a little closer and wrapped his arms around her.

"I know exactly where we were." Duncan replied. He leaned in and kissed her, and she kissed back. Courtney knew it was wrong but she didn't care. She needed him, and Duncan wouldn't have gone through so much if he didn't need her. They were meant for each other, and nothing could keep them apart.

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**See? I told you there would be a kiss! Lol. **

**Sorry this chapter was a little short, i will try my very best make them longer! Please review!  
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	10. Miss Independent

**Okay before i let you go, i just wanted to say how awesome you guys are! i mean i have soooooo many reviews and hits!!!!! wow, i never thought people would like it so much, so thanks again!!! :)**

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When Courtney woke up in the morning, Hayden was already awake, packing his suitcase. Today they were leaving to some city in Nevada, but she was sure it wasn't Vegas. She sat up in her bed and smiled, recalling the night before. The kiss she shared with Duncan was so fulfilling. There were fireworks, there was passion, there was, well just about anything that was needed to make a kiss perfect. Except for the fact that Courtney was engaged, and she did feel guilty about that, although maybe she would've felt a little more guilty if Hayden were a little more normal. However, Courtney was thinking about how she wouldn't have to feel guilty if she weren't engaged to him, and that could always be arranged. Although, not very easily. Hayden turned around and noticed Courtney sitting up in bed, staring off into space. "Morning, my dear." Hayden said, he came closer to her and leaned in for a kiss, but Courtney leaned away.

"Not now." Courtney said. She was in some deep thought. She was thinking that dumping Hayden and then running to Duncan would seem a little suspicious, almost like she had been having an affair with Duncan beforehand (not like that wasn't true). She thought, though, that it would make such a better story if in fact Hayden had dumped her, and then she ran to Duncan for support, and then they just fell back in love from there. Of course Cynthia would know that the whole thing would be BS, but who really cared about what Cynthia thought anyway? Courtney knew it wouldn't be easy to get Hayden to dump her, but she was going to give it a shot as best as she could.

Duncan was packing up all of his clothes into his duffel bag. He was glad that he was actually going to be able to be on the same plane as Courtney this time. Last night had been so perfect, he only wished that Courtney hadn't rushed out right after the kiss. She just didn't want to get caught, typical Courtney. When he finished packing, he went into the other room and took a seat on the couch before turning on the TV.

Courtney was sitting on the couch in her room watching the news on TV. Hayden had gone downstairs to get some coffee for the two of them before they checked out. She was glad he was out of the room. Lately his presence had done nothing but annoy her, and when he was gone it was like a gift. Hayden came into the room. He had a cup of coffee in each of his hands. He walked over to Courtney and handed her a cup. She took it and took a sip, making sure that she didn't thank him. It was a caramel flavored latte, her favorite. She stood up and placed the coffee on the table, thinking it was about time she put her master plan into action. "Blech!" Courtney shouted, giving the best grossed out look she could give. "I HATE caramel lattes! What the hell, Hayden?" She glared at him, and he seemed almost frightened as he looked at her. He was in shock.

"I thought caramel lattes were your favorite. That's what you always get." Hayden replied.

"Well, actually I've changed my mind, I don't like them anymore." Courtney lied, she was hoping she was making him mad.

"It would've been nice to know that before I went to get your coffee. Here, you can have mine. It's mocha." Hayden held out his coffee to Courtney. She pushed it away, and looked away from him, her head held up.

"I don't want your coffee, just get it right next time and we won't have this problem, alright?"

"Okay. I know how stressful all this moving around must be, I understand." Courtney turned and looked back at Hayden. What? He wasn't mad? What was his deal? If Courtney were Hayden, she probably would've ripped her head off. Courtney rolled her eyes and sighed, walking into the bathroom. It was going to be a long, hard battle against Hayden, but she wasn't going to give up so easily. Cynthia came into the room right when Courtney went into the bathroom. When Courtney left the bathroom, Cynthia put her suitcases down. "What's this I hear about you being in a bad mood? You can't be thankful about your fiancé being nice enough to go out of his way and get you some coffee?" Cynthia scolded. Hayden put his hand to his head, he must not have wanted Cynthia to bring that up. Courtney glared at Hayden, why did he have to tell her just about everything. Hayden tried to ignore Courtney's angry stare as best as he could. Cynthia knew Courtney wasn't going to respond to her question either. "Okay then, anyways, we really need to get a move on you two. We need to be in Reno by evening so we can prepare for the signing tomorrow. I hear there's going to be a lot of people. People coming in from all over Nevada." Cynthia picked up her luggage and headed for the door. "I have to go and get Duncan. Actually, Hayden, why don't you go and get him? Tell him to meet us in the lobby. I'm going to call a bellhop." Cynthia dropped her luggage again and walked over to the phone on the desk next to the TV. Courtney sat down on the couch angrily, she wanted Hayden and Duncan to go at it didn't she? Hayden left the room to go and get Duncan, he didn't look too happy himself.

Duncan was busy watching the weather forecast for Reno on the Weather Channel when he was interrupted by a knock at his door. He opened the door to see Hayden standing there, sipping his coffee. "Did you loose Courtney again?" Duncan asked, smiling.

"No, I've just come to tell you that it's time to go. Cynthia is calling a bellhop, and you can come bring your luggage into our room."

"So, you're actually going to allow me to be in the same room as Courtney then?"

"Would you just hurry? Cynthia's going to be really angry. I mean Courtney's already in a bad mood. I don't need two angry women all over my back." Duncan laughed. This guy was such a wuss.

"Afraid of angry women, are you?" Duncan asked as he turned off the TV and gathered his luggage. He came out of the room and closed the door, following Hayden down the hall to his room. Hayden hadn't responded to Duncan's question, so Duncan could only assume that he guessed correctly. Hayden was afraid of angry women. The thought made Duncan laugh, but then again...what man wasn't afraid of an angry woman to some extent? But Courtney? She'd always been so entertaining while angry. Duncan proceeded to follow Hayden into the hotel room. Cynthia was leaning against the wall by the door, arms crossed, and Courtney was sitting on the couch with and angry expression, staring at the blank TV screen. Due to the mood in the room Duncan wondered if someone found out about what happened the night before. "Good to see everyone in such a great mood." Duncan said. Cynthia rolled her eyes and Courtney looked over to Duncan and smiled before looking back away and putting on the same angry expression. Duncan was confused. Just then, the bellhop knocked on the door and Hayden opened it. Courtney got up from the couch and walked over to the bellhop, brushing shoulders with Duncan on her way purposely. She was hoping that small gestures as such would assure him that she wasn't mad at him. When everything was set, everyone walked down to the lobby, and into the limo. Courtney sat far away from everyone arms crossed, still looking angry. Cynthia was reading some kind of book, and Hayden just sat there looking guilty. Duncan sat across from Hayden, wondering what happened this morning to make everyone act so weird. Hayden was the one to speak up first. He looked over to Courtney. "Sweetie, are you still mad about the coffee?" Hayden asked. Duncan smiled, she was mad about coffee?

"No." Courtney replied. If looks could kill, Hayden would most certainly be dead.

"Then why don't you come over and sit by me?" Hayden replied, he seemed so desperate. Duncan looked over at Courtney and Courtney returned his glance. She looked back at Hayden.

"No." Courtney replied, and then she looked back at Duncan. Hayden sighed and gave up, turning to a book in his bag. Duncan felt like asking about what exactly happened earlier, but he let it go. He didn't want to make things worse than they already seemed.

On the jet, Courtney sat on the opposite side of Hayden, drinking a martini and staring out the window. Cynthia was sleeping, and Hayden was reading a book. Every so often, Duncan would notice Hayden take a glance over towards Courtney and then go back to his book. Duncan sat quietly listening to his ipod, glancing over at Courtney every now and then himself. It didn't seem like she was mad at him, so he didn't worry too much. He wanted to walk over and talk to her and ask her what was putting her in such a mood, but he knew as soon as he did Hayden would hover on over and break it up, making Courtney even more angry.

About an hour into the flight, Hayden fell asleep too, his book still in his lap. Duncan listened to Hayden's snores, and then looked over to Cynthia, seeing that she was still deep in sleep too. Courtney looked over at Duncan, who was now looking at her. They shared a long stare before finally Duncan stood up and sat next to her. "Go away." Courtney whispered to him. She had more worry in her voice than anger.

"You're not getting rid of me so easily, Princess. I'm not leaving until you tell me why you're in such a sour mood."

"I'm not in a sour mood." Courtney replied. So she was going to be difficult, but Duncan knew he could make her crack eventually.

"What's this whole coffee thing?" Duncan asked remembering the short conversation in the limo.

"Oh, it's nothing." Courtney said, she didn't want to tell him what really happened, because she didn't want Duncan to be in on her plan, not just yet. She was afraid if she told him the plan anyway that he might back out or something. She most certainly didn't want that. She knew that most of her plans did better when she was on her own. She was Miss Independent, and she knew that was how it had to be now.

"I know it was something, come on, tell me." Duncan said, putting his hand on hers. Courtney looked at their touching hands, oh how she wished they could stay like that forever.

"He just spilled some really hot coffee on my pants this morning. It burned really badly." Courtney lied. She was sure if she told him the truth he would know what she was up to.

"Do you want me to kick his ass?" Duncan asked pointing his thumb over to Hayden. Courtney laughed.

"Oh, no, no, that won't be necessary...this time. Don't tell him I told you this anyway." Courtney replied. She was carefully looking around to make sure that Cynthia and Hayden were ready to awaken.

"Alrighty then." Duncan said. He stood up, but their hands were still twined together holding him back. "I'm going back to my seat then, so we don't get caught."

"Oh, right" Courtney whispered taking her hand out of his and placing it in her lap. Duncan went back to his seat and then smiled at Courtney, who smiled back.

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**so...is hayden almost out of the picture for good? courtney sure has her whole plan worked out...but will her plan actually work? i wish i could tell ya but i don't wanna spoil anything! i already have the ending all planned out! please review, i wanna at least get to 100 reviews! :)**


	11. Her Feelings

**YAY!!!! I reached 100 reviews!!! thank you to all who reviewed! omg it's so exciting! special shout out to JoseJalepenoOnASteek who was my 100th reviewer! lol thnx for bearing with my overreaction everyone! Enjoy!**

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The plane landed right on schedule, and they got to the Marriott Hotel by six pm. Courtney and Hayden were given room 640, and Duncan was given room 620. Duncan made sure he said his room name aloud when it was given to him, so that Courtney would pick it up, and maybe pop into his room later. Courtney was still very quiet, except for her thank yous to the bellhop for carrying her bags around. She just didn't feel like talking. She wanted Hayden to feel her anger, and know just exactly what he would be getting into if he married her.

For dinner, Hayden and Courtney ordered room service. Courtney ordered the most expensive thing on the menu, since Hayden said he would be paying. She ordered the buttered lobster tails with the side of baked potato and penne pasta. They ate their dinner while watching _Say Anything_ on TV. Courtney thought that after dinner she would start talking to him again, but only because she didn't want her attitude to seem too suspicious. Courtney only got through half of her meal because the food was too much for her to eat. She sat back on the couch. "I really love this movie." She said to Hayden. Hayden looked at her and smiled, he was so glad she was talking to him again without yelling, and he was just happy she was talking to him in general.

"It's a very good movie." Hayden replied, he placed his arm around her, and Courtney stared at it. To Hayden she looked scared, like he had gone into some kind of forbidden territory, and he knew something was wrong when Courtney slid further away out of his reach. Courtney sighed, it was seriously going to be useless.

When Hayden and Courtney both decided to go to sleep, Courtney chose to stay awake, staring at the ceiling in her bed. She was so glad that she and Hayden requested separate beds. His snores were loud and obnoxious, and now she only wished they had requested separate rooms. She wanted so much to just get up and go to see Duncan, but she wasn't sure if that was the best idea, she really had nothing to say to him. She just wanted to be with him was all, but what if he thought it was weird if she showed up and didn't say anything? Maybe he just wanted to be with her too, maybe that's why he repeated his room number loudly at check in, he obviously wanted her to hear it.

Duncan was sitting in his room watching TV drinking a beer. It was one in the morning. He was still hoping Courtney was going to show up, but for some reason he knew she most likely wasn't going to. Maybe she hadn't heard him practically yell his room number out when the lady gave it to him. Maybe she regretted the kiss and was feeling some serious guilt about it. There was a knock at Duncan's door. Duncan knew who it was going to be, and he was right, there was his Courtney standing in the doorway. "I couldn't sleep." Courtney said, smiling.

"You've come to the right place." Duncan replied. Courtney walked into his room and Duncan closed the door, they both took a seat on the couch. The couch in this hotel was smaller, so they sat closer together. "I almost thought you weren't gonna show." Duncan took a sip of his beer. Courtney reached over and grabbed his beer and took a sip herself. Duncan laughed. "Didn't picture you being a beer drinker."

"I'm just full of surprises." Courtney laughed out in reply.

"You seem in a better mood. Let me guess, it must be me." Courtney knew his statement was true, she was in a better mood because she was with him.

"How did you guess?" Courtney replied, adding a hint of sarcasm so that he wouldn't think her response was entirely true. Courtney sighed. "I swear, it's like being in prison sharing a room with that guy, he snores so loud." Duncan laughed, they did snore loud in prison..

"Well, I'm sure Hayden's snores aren't anything too close to that in prison."

"You ought to know out of anyone." Courtney smiled.

"Yeah, I guess you're right about that." There was silence for a really long time after that. The two of them just sat, watching _The Godfather_ on HBO. Courtney never took a liking to that movie, but she watched it anyway. Sleepiness tingled Courtney's drooping eyelids. She felt like going back to her room, but she figured she could fight off the sleep. But then she thought of her experience the night before when Hayden nearly caught her being in Duncan's hotel room. She couldn't believe she was risking being caught again. Her mind wandered through the many possibilities of the outcome of getting caught, but sleep caught up to her, and before she knew it, she was out.

Duncan finished his beer and looked over to Courtney. Her head was leaning against her own shoulder, sleeping. He shook her a little, but she didn't wake up. She was sound asleep. He decided to let her sleep for awhile, thinking that he would wake her up an hour from then. Duncan leaned to the side and placed his head on his hand on the arm of the couch. He watched Courtney sleep. She looked so peaceful, it was starting to make him tired, but he knew he couldn't fall asleep he had to wake her up or else she would be terribly angry when she got up herself...

The morning sun tickled Courtney's face. She drearily sat up and looked around. "Oh, shit." She said to herself. She looked down, she had been sleeping against Duncan on his couch in his room and it was morning! Duncan himself was sound asleep, snoring. Courtney looked out the window behind her, the sun was up and shining. She quickly stumbled up off the couch rushing into the bedroom to check the time. It was seven in the morning. "Shit!" Courtney yelled. She ran into the room that Duncan was sleeping in, and saw him now completely awake, sitting up. "I can't believe I fell asleep!" She yelled to Duncan. "Why didn't you wake me up?!" She stared at him for a long time before he finally said something.

"I was only going to let you sleep until the movie was over, which was just an hour, but I fell asleep too. Sorry." Duncan wasn't in the mood to fight back as much as he'd like to, he was so tired.

"Well a lot of good you were! I can't believe-" Courtney trailed off, and stopped yelling. Her expression lightened up a little. She looked at Duncan who was looking at the ground rubbing his hand against the back of his neck. "What am I saying?" Courtney asked softly. "This isn't your fault it's mine! I should have known better than to have fallen asleep, oh my gosh, how could I let this happen. Goes to show you what happens when my feelings override my conscience." Duncan's head shot up and he looked directly at Courtney. He may not have been listening to her rambling earlier, but he most certainly caught that last part. _Her feelings_. Those two words meant so much to him. It meant fact that Courtney had come to him at night wasn't only because she was having trouble sleeping, that the kiss they shared actually meant something, and that he had her right where he wanted her. Duncan was about to ask her about what she just said, but Courtney's face was just too shocked. It seemed to Duncan that Courtney didn't want him to have heard what she just said, so he decided to just keep his big mouth shut no matter how tempting it was.

Courtney was angry with herself for letting her thoughts slip like that, it so wasn't like her. She watched Duncan carefully, with a surprised look on her face watching as he opened his mouth to say something, but then quickly change his mind. Courtney turned away. "Um, I should probably go, I mean we do have that signing today, and what not." Courtney went towards the door but stopped when she reached for the knob. She looked back over at Duncan. "Uh, Duncan, would you mind peeping your head out to make sure no one is out there, you know like Hayden or Cynthia," She looked a little worried.

"Anything for you, Princess," Duncan replied standing up and walking to the door. Courtney took a step back and watched as Duncan peeped his head out the door for a few moments. Duncan didn't see anyone. "You're good to go." Duncan said taking his head out of the doorway. Courtney looked relieved and smiled.

"Thank you," she came closer to Duncan and hugged him. He hugged her back, squeezing her extra tight.

"Really, it's no problem. I'm always gonna be here for you." Duncan replied honestly, because he knew no matter what that he definitely would. He was just silently praying she wouldn't get caught by Hayden sneaking to him at night, especially considering it would mostly be his fault. He wasn't sure how he would cope if he wasn't able to see Courtney again. He wondered if she would stop seeing him if Hayden told her not to...

"Well, I'll see you when it's time to get to our signing later." Courtney said breaking off the hug and walking out the door.

"Yeah, I'll see you." Duncan replied. He watched as the door closed behind her. And after the thoughts he had just shared with himself, he wondered if it could possibly be the last time he ever would ever be able to hug his princess again.

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**Sorry, this chapter may have been a little dry, i know...and i felt like it was lacking some emotion. it's not one of my better chapters. anyway, please review! Thanks!**


	12. Love Bites

**This chapter is going to be really short...sorry. i just felt like posting this how it was cuz i wasn't entirely sure how to continue after this, i mean i planned for this chapter to be long, but i thought this part just ended too well, i had to post it like this! also, i had a mini writer's block at the end, not knowing how to continue. i do know for sure where it is going to go cuz i have the ending planned out. i'm just not sure how to put it all into words, but i promise i'll get there!**

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Courtney walked down the hallway to her room. She let out a huge sigh as she walked slowly. She couldn't believe she let herself slip like that earlier. How could she have admitted to him aloud

what she had been hiding in her mind for so long? She couldn't help but let herself think that maybe he didn't hear her, or that maybe he hadn't known what she was talking about. She reached the

door of her room and pulled the room key out of the pocket of her robe. She opened the door and walked in. She saw Hayden sitting on the couch watching the news. Courtney closed her eyes, and

closed the door behind her. She opened her eyes and Hayden was still sitting there, damn. He looked at her. "Where were you?" Hayden asked, his green eyes full of worry and anger. He stood up

from the couch. Courtney ignored him and walked straight into the bedroom to get dressed. She closed the bedroom door in Hayden's face. She could hear Hayden knocking on the bedroom door,

mumbling to her, but she was trying her best to tune him out. She fumbled through her suitcase, her mind a frantic blur of various thoughts. _**Duncan, Hayden, cheating, lying, annoying, stress, **_

_**pain.**_

She pulled out a white button up blouse and brown dress pants. She tucked her white blouse into her dress pants. She smoothed out her outfit and opened the door. Hayden was standing there,

looking at her. "Did you hear a word I just said?" Hayden asked. Courtney knew she was going to have to respond to Hayden eventually, so she let out her anger. Her anger with herself, with

Hayden, and with the world. Funny, there was no anger for Duncan.

"Listen, Hayden, I was just getting some breakfast, is that okay? Am I allowed to get some breakfast on my own? Do you want to hire a babysitter for me?" Courtney yelled back to him. She went

straight into the bathroom to put on some makeup and fix her messy hair. Her hands were shaking, and she felt tears stinging in her eyes, what was wrong with her? She ran a brush through her

soft, mocha colored, shoulder length hair. She could hear Hayden's apology through the closed door. "Court, I'm sorry. You're right, I shouldn't get all over you every time that you go missing. You're

a grown woman, you're responsible enough to take care of yourself. I'm sorry." Courtney looked at herself in the mirror. She watched as her frazzled distorted expression melted into that of guilt. All

of her anger began to slowly melt away and turn into guilt. She felt bad. Here she was, Courtney, lying through her teeth to her own fiance, and here he was apologizing to her when really she

owed him an apology. She was the one who was doing the wrong, and that was so not what Courtney Lautner was about. As much as she may of disliked Hayden these past few weeks, she knew

she had accepted his marriage proposal for a reason. All of a sudden her master plan didn't seem like such a good idea. Her plan was so not 'Courtney' and she wasn't ready to break the rules yet.

She didn't want to be away from Duncan ever, but she also didn't want to be a lying, two-timing, scheming, bitch. She figured when the time was perfectly right she would finish what she started,

but for her now wasn't the best time. Especially when there was so much at stake for her. There was something that she loved about Hayden once, and she lost that part about him, and it was up

to her to find it again. She opened the door to the bathroom, and hugged Hayden tight, even though it broke her heart so much to do so.

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**I know, i'm sorry i left you hanging like that, i'm mean aren't i? don't worry, i promise i won't leave you hanging like this for too long! review please! give me some inspiration, even though i have the ending planned, doesn't mean i don't need ideas! i love geting ur ideas! :)**


	13. She's Sooo Not Okay

**I know i told you guys i wouldn't keep you hanging for long, and i kinda did. i'm sorry! i've had finals, and essays, and i think the essays just murdered my willingness to write. But i'm back, and free of finals! Yipppeeee!**

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Courtney sat in the limo next to Hayden and a few feet away from Cynthia. They were waiting for Duncan. Soon enough Duncan opened the door and hopped in. "You're late." Cynthia scolded.

"Don't get your panties in a twist, Honey." Duncan replied, rolling his eyes.

"Listen, I'm not gonna take your crap today, you. Besides, it's rude to show up late."

"Have you ever heard of being fashionably late? Celebrities do it all the time." Cynthia grumbled to Duncan's final response and left it at that. Duncan's eyes wandered to a strange sight. Hayden had his arm around Courtney...and she was allowing it. Duncan stared in disbelief. Duncan could tell Courtney was trying her best not to make eye contact with him. Hayden gave Duncan a hard glare when he caught Duncan staring at Courtney. But Duncan just glared back, making Hayden surrender. Hayden obviously felt threatened by Duncan because Hayden immediately removed his arm from Courtney's shoulders. Duncan smiled to himself. What a wuss. Courtney looked up at Hayden as he lifted his arm from around her, wondering why he had backed off. She looked to Duncan, who looked back at her. Their eyes met for half a second, before Courtney turned away. Duncan sighed. What was with her? He wondered if it was something Hayden had said to her, or done to her. What if he had hurt her? He cringed at the thought. He couldn't picture anyone wanting to harm his princess, and God forbid if anyone did, Duncan would surely make sure they paid for it. He looked at Courtney again, scanning her for any sign of abuse, any sign that Mr. Asshole may have laid a hand on her, but he found nothing. He shook his head. He was being so protective over her, and he knew that. And he knew he was most likely just overreacting. He knew he couldn't be protective of someone that didn't belong to him.

Courtney tried her hardest to ignore Duncan's stare the whole car ride. She knew she was getting weak, and watching his broken hearted stares would just make her crawl to him. After Duncan's little glare war with Hayden, she saw Duncan's face just out of the corner of her eye. He looked so...strange. It was a side of him she had never seen before, and she never wanted to see it again. Courtney eventually had to shift her position completely, just to avoid sneaking a glance to him. The silence in the car wasn't helping either, she felt like suddenly all the air in the car had been taken away, and she was finding it difficult to breathe correctly. She began sweating, and took out a tissue from her Chanel shoulder bag to dab her forehead. When the car pulled over in front of the bookstore, Courtney was the first to climb out. She was stopped in her rush to the entrance of the store by a smiling woman, obviously the store manager. The woman's smile faded away to a look of concern. "Miss Lautner," the woman started, "are you alright?" Courtney looked up at the woman, who was significantly taller than her.

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine, don't worry." Courtney half panted. She straitened out her outfit and faked the best smile she could.

"Okay, good." The woman put her smile back on. "I'm Lucy."

"A pleasure to meet you, Lucy." Courtney replied. Hayden came up behind Courtney and placed his arm around her. Courtney made a slight jump at the gesture, not expecting it. Cynthia started talking to Lucy, but was interrupted when Duncan appeared behind Courtney and Hayden.

"Oh, Duncan!" Lucy started, "Wow, I'm a huge fan, gosh, you're even better looking in person. Wow." Duncan laughed.

"You're not so bad looking yourself, Sweetheart." Duncan replied. Courtney turned around and stared at Lucy up and down as the girl annoyingly blushed and let out the most annoying giggle Courtney had ever heard in her life. Duncan smiled at the girl. She was a little strange for his taste, and was cute, but she was definitely no Courtney. Duncan's smile drifted over to Courtney, who was still giving a deadly glare to Lucy. Duncan was quite amused. Was Courtney a bit...jealous? Courtney caught Duncan's stare, and turned away quickly, hoping Duncan wasn't really paying attention to her glares at poor Lucy. How long had he been looking at her? Did he notice? She was silently freaking out, and then she rushed inside. The fan-girlish screams didn't help much, as the audience waiting for the book talk cheered her on as she walked in. She tried her best to hide her discomfort with cheesy smiles and elegant waves.

Duncan entered the crowded bookstore with nothing but pride. His mood had suddenly been uplifted by Courtney's obvious jealousy at his flirting with that silly manager girl. So Courtney still liked him, just the thought of those words made him worthy to jump for joy, not like he would actually do that anyway. He gave the screaming girls who were completely gushing over him winks, and some were even lucky enough to get hugs. Courtney was already sitting behind the podium in the center of the store, and Duncan shot several hidden glances to her to see if she was still jealous. And he could tell she was definitely still jealous as she glared at him. Not even noticing that he was noticing her. It made Duncan laugh. _Damn, she looks hot when she's jealous_, thought Duncan.

A few members of the paparazzi were standing in the back of the bookstore smiling. Cynthia had demanded that there be no interviews (for obvious reasons), so if any questions or anything were asked, Duncan and Courtney weren't allowed to answer. Some old, middle aged man stepped up to the podium to quiet the audience and give his introduction. Hayden was going to be making an opening statement before Courtney was called to the podium, and then Duncan would get in his words last unlike last time when he went first. Hayden rambled on and on about the most boring stuff. Courtney had lost interest after about his second sentence. Every so often Hayden would laugh at his own story, and then glance back to Courtney expecting her to smile back or laugh back, but she wasn't even paying attention. She was in a deep thought, a deep thought that didn't even really make any sense to her. Thoughts that were all over the place, exploring the many possibilities that she could reach for in her life.

She could be happy, she could go to Duncan, she could be with him forever. She could love him unconditionally, and he could return the favor. Or she could lead the life she always figured she was meant to have. Running in office and being on top. Having people listen to her and follow in her footsteps. There was always just that one problem with that lifestyle, it lacked Duncan, and it added in Hayden. Courtney's thoughts came to a halt when she heard her name being called. She felt someone nudge her shoulder. She snapped out of her daze and looked around and confused. She looked toward where she felt the nudge. It was Duncan. He gave her a strange look as the audience applauded. "It's your turn to talk Princess, your prince has been calling you." Duncan said softly.

"What?" Courtney asked, and she looked around. Hayden was standing at the podium, motioning for her to come up, and the audience was looking right at her. "Oh!" Courtney suddenly realized what was going on and came to. She walked up to the podium as Hayden stepped back. Hayden leaned in close to her.

"You alright?" Hayden asked. Courtney looked behind her right at Duncan, he looked really concerned. Courtney smiled brightly right at Duncan, but she turned away to the audience before she could catch his reaction.

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine." Courtney replied. Hayden backed away and sat down. "Let's just get this over with." Courtney mumbled under her breath. Courtney continued to go into her speech in a completely haze, at times not even realizing that she was even talking. She just went on saying the same old about her book, her life, and anything else important that came to mind. Just like how she was programmed the do. She wouldn't have been surprised if one of the questions that popped up during the questioning session asked her what she was talking about in her speech. Because by the time she was done talking and introduced Duncan, she wasn't even sure what she had said. But people were clapping, that was a good sign right? When she passed Duncan to return to her seat, he winked at her, and she could feel her face heat up. She looked down and smiled, and took her seat. "Nice speech," Cynthia said as Courtney sat down.

"Uh, thank you?" Courtney replied, she gave a confused smile to Cynthia, who just smiled back. _Wow_, Courtney thought, _I must have been really good if Cynthia is in such a good mood_. She watched the audience as the girls swooned over Duncan and his speech. _What was so appealing about him to them anyway?_ Courtney thought. But then she shook her head to the stupidness of her question. The real question was wasn't so appealing about him? Of course he had every girl swooning over him. His hair, eyes, difficult personality, badass image. What didn't he have? Was there anything he had that any girl didn't want? Was there anything he had that Courtney didn't want?

* * *

**The story is almost over! :( can you see it? can you see the light at the end of the tunnel? well maybe it won't be a light, maybe it will just still be darkness. that is, darkness if she winds up staying with Hayden. Okay, so review please, you guys keep me going, no lie! lol :)**


	14. Important

Hey, sorry if I got any of you excited that I finally updated. Actually, I hate to tell you guys this, but I'm officially putting the story on hold. I'm not going to delete it, no way. I'm just going to stop writing

it for a little while. I promise I will continue, but I'm just not sure when. I have a major writer's block for the story, and I promise that when it gets cleared up I will continue! Please don't be mad! Well

actually, if u wanna be mad that's okay too lol. Maybe just take it out on Hayden cuz I know you all love to hate that guy! In the meantime, you can read my new story if you want entitled: He's Just

Not That Into You. It's a TDI fic with a majority of the TDI couples displayed. Thanks!


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